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Got a great deal on expedia and flew with Sunwing via Vivaaerbus (never again but that's another review).
As with any resort you have the good and the bad. This was our first time at a Riu and we were pleasantly suprised as it's a nice size, not overwhelmingly big but spacious enough to wander around and get a different experience every day if that's what you're after. The stage, disco, and two bars are all centrally located. We were greeted with a drink upon arrival and walked to our room by the concierge which was located on the 5th floor facing the Riu next door. Pleasantly we had a bit of an ocean view and the sky was magnificent first thing in the morning. Nice and quiet at night too. There was a stocked mini fridge, an in room safe for no extra charge, alcohol on tap and an ice machine in the hallway. We had upgraded to a family room hoping for bunk beds but we got 2 double and one single bed instead.
The washroom area in the room is odd. Shower doors are frosted but still see through and there is no door on the outside of the bathroom for privacy. This made showering awkward as my teenage daughter and my fiance had to go out onto the balcony in order to give each other some privacy when the other one was changing/showering. The toilet is in a smaller enclosed area with a door but no fan. My fiance chose to use one of the washrooms in the lobby instead so that we weren't overwhelmed by his business. Regardless, our room held a musty smell even with the air conditioning going.
We noticed that people tend to be creatures of habit and like to choose the same pool/beach chairs every day (not our jive but to each his own) so they do get saved but if you're up early enough you can usually still get a shaded chair by the pool. Chairs in full sun are abundant. and the beach area has quite a few palm trees if you're looking for shade but watch out for the birds and the bats! My fiance and I were both pooped on two days in a row. (good luck, right?)
The food was great with lots of options daily and even my picky 8 year old managed to stay satisfied. Mexican Fiesta night was amazing with a huge prawn mountain, taco's, enchillada's, and so many other great mexican options. We loved that we could go to the a la carte restaurants without a reservation. Some nights we'd try one of those first and if one of us wasn't satisfied with our meal, we'd head over to the buffet afterwards to top off. Dessert was fabulous!
This is a serve yourself resort so dont expect to be waited on by the pools or on the beach. Line ups can get long but there is a convenient swim up bar in the activity pool which seems to serve people faster. The beach washroom has only two stalls so expect to wait for the womens. This sucked for someone like me who has to go every 5 minutes if I indulge in the odd beverage but there are more stalls in the centrally located washrooms by the stage so i just started going there as i never had to wait.
The maids did not clean our room daily. We were lucky to get a cleaning every second day at best and only got a towel animal one of those days. Yes, we tipped.
Bring you're own sunscreen! We paid 28$ Canadian for a spray bottle at the on site store, which lasted us two days.
Also worth noting, my teenager lost her phone while partying at the pool and the staff took this very seriously. I was very impressed with how this was handled. We eventually found the phone on the chair of another guest at the pool who had been helping us look for it the whole time. So watch your stuff.
We lost power in our room at one point but the maintenance workers were there in minutes and had things back in working order quickly. Impressive!
Honorable mention: Eduardo (pool security) was the most welcoming and personable worker that we met at this resort. Just an all around friendly guy who took the time to ask our name and offered ideas on how to calm down a sunburn. He looks big and scary but after talking to him, we felt very safe. Thanks Eduardo!
Staff works very hard to keep this resort clean and comfortable but more attention needs to be given to washing the areas around the elevator buttons. They are dirty and weren't wiped down our entire stay, whereas we saw other walls being wiped in less frequented areas. Also, smokers..... have some respect!! Seriously, there are thousands of cigarette butts littering the entire beach area! Ashtrays are readily availble, do your part to preserve this beautiful piece of paradise and use one! Also, I stepped on a piece of metal which embedded itself into my foot while on the beach. The resort should make more of an effort to clean up the litter and/or hold guests accountable for their mess.
Blue flag?? There is a flag chart that states whether or not it's safe to go into the ocean but blue is not on there. We thought it meant safe to enter so we swam as did many others, only to find out later that there had been multiple stings from sting rays in that location, thus the blue flag, so we were told. So just a heads up!
We had a chance to go next door and check out the Riu Vallarta but only stayed 10 minutes as we couldn't find a chair and liked the Jalisco setting way better. All in all we had a very nice time at the Jalisco and wouldn't hesitate to return if presented with another good deal.
Enjoy your vacation! :)
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Date of stay: March 2019Trip type: Travelled with family
Room Tip:rooms on the exterior of building are quieter
Location
Service
Sleep Quality
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
The hotel and facilities were very nice and in good repair. Only issue we had was the shower in both rooms the hose leaked. Not a big deal but something small that could have been repaired at anytime. The one disappointment we had was that we were unable to get into the a la carte restaurants without having to line up at 8 in the morning to see if we could get in that night, an absolutely absurd way of booking reservations this should have been covered through the concierge desk for any day up to a week ahead. This resort had the nicest beach area in our strip of hotels with lots of trees for those who wanted shade and a good amount of open beach for those looking for full sun. All in all an excellent resort for the price.
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Date of stay: March 2016
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
Just stayed at the Riu Jalisco since it reopened after its renovations. These renovations make the Jalisco look like a high end hotel anywhere in America. The lobby is beautiful now boasts two concierge desks. The rooms are contemporary and have new flat screen TV's, comfortable beds and electronic room cards and safes. However I am very disappointed that the gazebo in the central courtyard has been removed. That had been the heart of the hotel which hosted numerous weddings and photo opportunities. The food offerings in the buffet restaurants are consistently good and try to offer different menu offerings every day. The Botana (beach) restaurant now has the buffet area enclosed in glass to prevent the birds from getting into the food on the buffet. The specialty restaurants are still the Asian and Steakhouse, however the Brazilian has been revised to Italian. The pool area has been renovated near the bar area and some trees have been removed to allow for the area to be brighter. Additionally, there has been a new restroom constructed near the pool area. Many areas are still getting minor completions, but overall the noticeable areas of the hotel are amazing! The star quality of the hotel remains to be the staff. These people are still amazing in every way! They are always courteous and willing to offer assistance wherever possible.
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Date of stay: November 2013Trip type: Travelled with friends
Value
Rooms
Location
Cleanliness
Service
Sleep Quality
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
Let's start with the good news. The Hotel itself is very beautiful. The staff was very friendly and hard working. The bar service was very good also. Plenty to drink and very friendly bartenders.
Now for the not so good news: This was our first all inclusive trip and were not sure what to expect. We picked this resort based upon a travel agent's suggestion. We aren't picky people but this was not a 4-5 star hotel in our opinion. No room service,no coffee pot in your room, no concierge service.
Food: If you like buffet's you will be in heaven. We do not. They served the same foods every day in 3 of the four restaurants. The 4th restaurant you need to get up at 7:00 AM to make a reservation for that evening. You are served pieces of meat from skewers with the salad bar. You do not get to pick from a menu.
Entertainment: Most evenings they had a variety type show. Nothing to write home about. They did have boogie boards, kayaks and sail boats that were fun. They also offered you water aerobics, pool side bingo etc. Again, nothing to write home about.
Tours: We booked through Worry Free Vacations. The excursions were expensive and most did't include transportation. You have access to taxi's and the local bus in front of the hotel but not speaking the language it is hard to make your way around.
Phone calls: If you need to call home be prepared to walk outside the hotel and down the street to a pay phone as the hotel does not have a payphone. If you use your room phone they charge you for an outside line. I think it was 2-3 dollars a call.
Elevators: The entire hotel only has one set of elevators. Be prepared to walk alot. This was good for us but not everyone likes it.
Beach: The beach in front of the resort is nice and cleaned each night. You will be solicited to by vendors but most will not harrass you to buy their items.
All in all we did have a good time but not a great time. We just expected more from a RIU resort.
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This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
We just returned from the Riu Jalisco this evening and felt compelled to post a review immediately in order to save others from the utter HELL we endured while on vacation this past week.
First, we have travelled extensively throughout Mexico, the Carribbean, and Hawaii, and have stayed a variety of higher-end resorts (many all-inclusive). Our expectations were moderate, given the timing of our trip (low season) and the fact that this was a Mexican resort.
Upon arrival, we were greeted by very helpful front desk personnel, and found the ocean-view room adequate. We ventured to the dinner buffet (one of only two dinner options - Italian restaurant was closed during the entire week we were there) to find a variety of mystery meat dishes, long lines, un-replenished food, and unhelpful, i.e. "No English, Senior" speaking staff. We learned quickly that every meal was a scene from "Groundhog Day" - the days would change, but the food stayed EXACTLY the same. Tasteless, cold, and either undercooked (i.e. pink chicken on one occasion) or burnt and charred beyond recognition (are those really hamburgers???). Lunch was especially trying - a separate grill stand offered hamburgers and pork (I think). The lines often spanned 20-30 people and the chef would only cook 8 burgers at a time. In addition, plan for flies and birds to share your plate. The only decent thing for lunch was the soft-serve ice cream - if the machine was working. You will definitely lose weight here.
We were forcred to venture into town most nights in search of decent cuisine. However, there was noone on staff to offer dining suggestions, so you're pretty much on your own (no concierge). Additionally, the drinks are sub-par, the liquor is lowest quality, and the beer is all draft (they claim it is Corona, but I doubt it.) The best place for a drink is the Lobby Bar, which at least offers a chilled mug with the beer and seems to have slightly better quality liquor.
Turning our attention to the facilities...While the adults-only pool seemed to be nice at first glance, there were children (primarily Spanish-speaking) everywhere and security did nothing to prevent them from continuing to splash, scream, and pee in the water, even though, per the resort's rules, children were only to be in the children's pool. Throughout the majority of the week, empty cups were not removed from the poolside by resort staff and the pool was filled with dead bugs (bees, beetles, other). We expected the pool to be moderately refreshing, especially in light of the 90+ degree weather with 100% humidity, but the pool water was so warm it made you feel like you had to urinate immediately upon entering. And, please be prepared, the bathroom is NOT in close proximity to the pool area. Read between the lines here.
On the third day, we awoke to itchy red bumps on our legs, feet, arms and backs. We discovered bugs (very small ant-like bugs) in the bed, all over the bathroom counter and tiled walls, and a few black beetles on the floor. We called the front desk and they sent a non-English speaking housekeeper who's answer to our problem was to spray our whole room with her can of Raid.
You won't see a wash cloth after the first day, and the shower backed-up severely every day. As there are no clocks in the rooms, we relied on a daily scheduled wake-up call. However, on our departure day, we didn't receive our scheduled wake-up call. We also heard this happened to others who were checking out today as well.
All in all, this is NOT a 5-star resort, by any standard. The rooms are average (without the bugs), the food is deplorable, and the facility layout is less than desirable. While service level fluctuated, Spanish-speaking guests definitely received immediate and special attention. We will NOT return to this resort and hope our review helps your vacation planning.
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This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews.
